James Toth is an anthropologist who studies Egypt, the Arab world, and the wider Islamic community. He has taught at the American University of Cairo and at Northeastern University, and since 2011, has worked at New York University in Abu Dhabi. He is the author of Rural Labor Movements in Egypt and Their Impact in the State, 1961-1992.

"Toth provides an important analysis of one of the most influential Muslim thinkers of the twentieth century. He presents a portrait that includes Qutb's activities as a young Egyptian intellectual as well as his later works as an articulator of militant Islamic ideologies. A special strength of this study is that Toth provides a much-needed contextualization of Qutb within Egyptian intellectual life during the first two-thirds of the twentieth century."--John Voll, Professor of History, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

"Toth avoids the trap of automatic, simplistic condemnation and instead unveils the vexing, evolutionary and ultimately fascinating mind of Qutb. The book is a surprising and rounded read." --Publishers Weekly

"Toth provides an important analysis of one of the most influential Muslim thinkers of the twentieth century. He presents a portrait that includes Qutb's activities as a young Egyptian intellectual as well as his later works as an articulator of militant Islamic ideologies. A special strength of this study is that Toth provides a much-needed contextualization of Qutb within Egyptian intellectual life during the first two-thirds of the twentieth century." -- John Voll, Professor of History, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

"An evenhanded analysis of Qutb's philosophies in light of his experiences." --Library Journal

"Excellent . . . hefty and impressively researched . . . [Toth's] book provides a useful précis of the main themes that Qutb explored and the terms he introduced. This is no small feat, considering that the Muslim Brotherhood's preeminent thinker penned countless articles and more than twenty books, one of them a six-volume commentary on the Koran." --New York Review of Books

"In providing a balanced account of Qutb's ideas, [Toth] measures their impact, and approaches him like other intellectuals who inspire revolutions, however unpopular they may be to some. While Qutb is reviled by propagandists of a certain bend, Toth's work deepens the understanding of a central figure of a movement." --Islamic Horizons

"Toth presents a balanced, nuanced picture of the often-misunderstood Qutb..." --Journal of Church and State